How Arizona Residents Claim Their Making Work Pay & Government Retiree Credit

Most eligible taxpayers meet the Making Work Pay credit of $800 for married couples filing a joint return and $400 for everyone else. The credit is 6.2 percent of earned income up to $190,000 per annum AGI for joint filers and $95,000 for everyone else.

The Government Retiree Credit is designed to provide something equivalent to the Economic Recovery benefit for those ineligible for the latter. You are eligible if you are a retired federal, state, or local government official who receives a pension based on work that isn’t covered by Social Security. The credit is worth $500 for joint filers and $250 for everyone else.